Real Estate & Property Law

Restaurant owner: Mt. Prospect won't push me out

By Alan Ackerman

Daily Herald

Never without his U.S. Marines baseball cap, Tod Curtis is a walking, talking symbol of old downtown Mount Prospect.

He believes Mount Prospect village officials have been conspiring to drive him out of business for years, and want him out now, in particular, to proceed with a downtown development without him.

In response, he is pursuing a civil racketeering lawsuit against Mayor Irvana Wilks, several municipal employees and a local developer, alleging they have formed an "ongoing enterprise and scheme" for nearly a decade.

"The RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act) statute was meant to uncover serious felony conduct, normally for criminal prosecution," said Len Cavise, a DePaul University law professor.

According to Curtis, village officials "employed endless harassing inspections of the property."

In short, village officials want Curtis out of Mount Prospect, he believes.

One of those actions occurred on April 11, 2008, after the village shut down the Ye Olde Town Inn for code violations related to structural, plumbing and electrical problems.

Curtis said village officials want him out of the way to make room for a $40 million town center project that the board approved in May.

The development area is locally called the "small triangle" and is bounded by Northwest Highway, Route 83 and Willie Street.

For the past two years, the village has been trying to acquire Curtis' land through eminent domain. Eventually the acquisition could end up in a place both Curtis and village officials are familiar with - court.

"It's currently under review by a judge, but it could end up going before a jury who will decide the value of the property," Cooney said. "That wouldn't happen until late this year."

Curtis, meanwhile, has his own development plan for the area that he calls the Gateway Centre of Mount Prospect.

Cooney said village officials looked over the plans when Curtis submitted them last year and "responded with a long list of comments."

It sounds like a unique situation in which a property owner attempted to use RICO to try and save his property from an improper taking. Apparently, trial court denied the owner's traverse (taking challenge).

Both parties are now having the property appraised. With Bill Ryan now the owner's lawyer, there is a good likelihood fair market value will finally be offerred.

Full post as published by National Eminent Domain Blog on September 08, 2009 (boomark / email).